Who is making the hapeh?

 

In March 2022 I visited the Healing center of the Yawanawá village Mutum at the Gregorio river in Acre, Brazil.

In the healing tradition of the Yawanawa, Rapeh is a medicine prepared from Tabacco leaves and the ash of a tree called Tsunu. It's a snuff that traditionally is passed to another person through a Tepi or through self usage with a Kuripe.

It is a medicine that has been part of their culture for as long as they know, used by their ancestors far before any westerners came to their land.

Hushahu, together with her sister, were the first woman who entered into a shamanic study in the story of their people. Before this path was only open to the men of the tribe. As a young woman curious to discover the world of the pajes, she asked her father to study and eventuallyhim and the paje Tata accepted her onto the path to study and she did a diet of one year and three months isolated in the forest with her teachers. During her diet she began to discover the world of the Pajes as a woman, expressing this through her art and her voice, receiving female voices for the traditional songs. In the words of her father she was "discovering the secrets of the pajes". Today the designs that she received are used in the artworks of many different tribes in Brazil. Following her diet Hushahu continued to study with Tata until his death and the path of spirituality opened for the women of the tribe. Today many women are studying and singing as equals to the men in ceremony.

To elaborate rapeh the Yawanawa traditionally use the ashes of the Tsunu tree. Tsunu is a tall and majestic tree, one of their most sacred trees. There are many benefits related to this Rapeh, it is uplifting and comes with healing power and spiritual force, it aids to energetic cleansing. 

The rapeh is from Mutum village on the Gregorio river in Acre/Brazil, elaborated by Hushahu herself, Hukena, her daughter, Yamarume, her nephew, and Rasu paje Tata´s grandson and Tawahu.


Hushahu’s daughter Hukēna began her journey on the path of spirituality at a very young age. She is one of the youngest women of her people to be initiated into the Muka diet. one of the most sacred and important spiritual retreats of her tradition which she received from the hands of the shaman Tatá, and her mother Hushahu. Since then, she has dedicated her life to the study of sacred medicines. 

Through the ancestral knowledge of her tradition, she conducts spiritual work throughout Brazil and abroad, bringing her strength, knowledge and beauty through her voice and teachings. Hukēna is an inspiration to many, being the first woman in her tribe marry another woman and continually working to bring understanding, equality and healing inside her community and around the world. 

Learning with her mother, Hukēna has a rich study of her tradition as well as the vision of a new generation. Together with her partner Nawãma, she stands for what she believes in with a strong but humble heart and brings teachings and songs that touch the hearts of many around the world.


Tawahu Yawanawa
: The Heir to Ancestral Wisdom

Tawahu Yawanawa is much more than a spiritual leader of his people; he is a guardian of tradition, a messenger of forest medicines and a living link between ancestral knowledge and the modern world. Son of the powerful Yawarani Yawanawa Shaman, Tawahu grew up immersed in the deep spirituality of his lineage, learning from an early age the mysteries of sacred plants, healing songs and the power of prayers.

Of all the children of Yawarani, Tawahu was the one who accompanied his father during his lifetime on many journeys in and out of the forest. Together, they took prayers and healing to different places, sharing Yawanawa wisdom with those who sought to reconnect with the sacred. Each ceremony, each song and each teaching transmitted alongside his father was a living initiation, strengthening his mission to maintain and expand this knowledge.

With his dedication, Tawahu has become a pillar within his family, a guide for his children and also for those who follow the path of spirituality, he is a guardian of ancestral medicines. His work resonates beyond the borders of the forest, bringing the strength of the Yawanawa to hearts all over the world, always with respect, truth and commitment to the essence of the sacred.

Tawahu's lineage is marked by strength and commitment to healing, and his legacy is the continuation of a story that began long before him. Like his father, he continues to follow the path of the great shamans, reminding everyone that the forest does not just hold secrets – it is the very source of life, and those who know how to listen to it find all the answers within it. 

On biubiu.biutiful we only work with Yawanawá rapé. 

Who is making the hapeh?
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